Core elements: the world intellectual property organization (wipo) is following the latest developments in science and technology, as a bright beacon that points in the direction of technological progress. The increasing trend towards the commodification and socialization of science and technology has created an urgent need for the legal protection of scientific and technological achievements through intellectual property rights. The following is a detailed account of what the world intellectual property organization is。
Structure of the world intellectual property organization
Jacquesaille, director of the joint international bureau on intellectual property, 1960. Queitan proposed a restructuring of the administration. A diplomatic conference aimed at “establishment of the world intellectual property organization (wipo)” was held at the swedish parliament house in stockholm on 14 july 1967. Following the meeting, the wipo convention was signed. The convention entered into force on 26 april 1970. As a result, wipo replaced the joint international bureau as the sixteenth specialized united nations international organization with its headquarters in geneva. We formally joined the world intellectual property organization in 1980. Wipo has three main governing bodies: the general assembly, the congress and the coordinating committee. All wipo members are representatives of the general assembly. Members of the congress must be both members of wipo and members of the paris convention for the protection of industrial property and the berne convention for the protection of literary and artistic works, or one of the two conventions. Members of the congress have the right to elect the director-general and to determine the financial budget of wipo. Members of the coordinating committee are ex officio members of the executive committee of the paris convention for the protection of industrial property or the berne convention for the protection of literary and artistic works. The coordinating committee is responsible for recommending candidates for the post of director-general。
Ongoing legislative changes
In its long-standing practice of treaty-making, wipo has developed mechanisms to dominate international intellectual property legislation. The process consists mainly of three stages: the adoption by the wipo general assembly of a resolution amending or developing a treaty; the study by a committee of experts or a standing committee of drafts of drafts or revised treaties; and the adoption of treaties by the diplomatic conference and their opening for signature by states. Wto usually meets in advance of the diplomatic conference in a preparatory session to determine procedural issues such as the timing, venue, states participating in the conference. If the diplomatic conference succeeds in adopting the treaty in question, it will be open for signature by states immediately after the conclusion of the conference. Signing usually takes one year. To date, 22 international intellectual property treaties have been concluded. These include the madrid agreement for the suppression of false or deceptive marking of commodity sources (1891), the madrid agreement on international registration of trade marks (1891), the patent cooperation treaty (1970), etc. Fifteen of the 22 international intellectual property treaties were concluded after the establishment of wipo. Wipo focused on changes to the law. The number of treaties that have been amended by wipo totalled 40. Of these, eight amendments were made to the berne convention for the protection of literary and artistic works and seven to the paris convention for the protection of industrial property. Today, the wio law applies increasingly to the international community. According to statistics, the world intellectual property organization convention has more than 180 members, representing 90 per cent of the world's total; the paris convention for the protection of industrial property has 175 members; the berne convention for the protection of literary and artistic works has 167 members; and the world trade organization and its agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights has 135 members。
Scientific duality
The world intellectual property organization (wipo) is inextricably linked to the world trade organization (wto) in development. The world trade organization was preceded by gatt. Gatt has been engaged in eight rounds of negotiations since its conclusion in 1947. During the first seven rounds of negotiations, tariff reductions were the main element of the negotiations and never addressed intellectual property rights. It was not until the 1993 uruguay round that intellectual property protection was included in the negotiations, and a world trade organization and its agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (trips agreement) was formed on intellectual property protection in international trade. As a result, there are three main elements of today's international trade: trade in goods, trade in services and trade in intellectual property。
Trips refers to trips as trade-related intellectual property rights. Trips, while defining or emphasizing intellectual property rights from a trade perspective, also clarifies its relationship with selected international intellectual property conventions. Under the agreement, members of the world trade organization must comply with the substantive provisions of the paris convention for the protection of industrial property and the berne convention for the protection of literary and artistic works, but not with those expressly excluded from the agreement or with the procedural provisions of the two conventions. It can be argued that the standard for the protection of industrial property is the trips agreement and the paris convention for the protection of industrial property, and the standard for the protection of copyright is the trips agreement and the berne convention for the protection of literary and artistic works. Moreover, trips standards for the protection of industrial property and copyright are higher than those of the paris convention for the protection of industrial property or the berne convention for the protection of literary and artistic works. The trips agreement specifies that when a dispute arises between members concerning the implementation of this agreement, it shall be subject to consultations and settlement in accordance with the rules and procedures of the world trade organization concerning dispute settlement. For the first time at the international level, trips linked the protection of intellectual property rights to international trade, making international protection of intellectual property compulsory, breaking with the world intellectual property organization (wipo) and the international treaties under its jurisdiction, creating a new pattern of dualism and dualism。
A bright technology beacon
Wipo is following the latest developments in science and technology, like a bright beacon that points the way for technological progress. The increasing trend towards the commodification and socialization of science and technology has created an urgent need for the legal protection of scientific and technological achievements through intellectual property rights. To this end, wipo has developed the budapest treaty (1977) to address international recognition of patents for micro-organisms, the washington treaty (1989), which specifically protects integrated circuits. The copyright treaty and the performances and phonograms treaty were adopted at the diplomatic conference on certain aspects of copyright and neighbourhood rights, held on 2 december 1996. The two treaties address mainly copyright and neighbouring rights in the network environment and are thus referred to as “internet treaties”。
In its legislative activities, wipo has also sought to explore new legislative approaches to meet the challenges posed by the rapid development of science and technology. A soft law is a successful attempt. The so-called soft law refers to international instruments that are not strictly legally binding but have certain legal effects. Wipo has developed international soft law on intellectual property, such as the 1999 joint recommendations on the protection of visible trademarks, the 2000 joint recommendations on trademark licensing and the 2001 joint recommendations on the protection of trademarks rights and other industrial property rights on the internet. These documents were adopted simultaneously at the paris union conference for the protection of industrial property, the wipo conference and at meetings of member states and were characterized by wipo as “the progressive development of international intellectual property law”. Soft law exerts much less pressure on member states than treaty-making. Member states are also generally willing to adopt and comply with specific rules established in soft law。
Fair mediation
In september 1993, the wipo general assembly adopted a resolution establishing the arbitration and mediation centre. The centre for arbitration and conciliation, as the main executing agency of wipo, manages all wipo dispute resolution procedures. In addition, there are the arbitration and conciliation council and the arbitration advisory board, which are composed of representatives of governments and civil society organizations. The main function of the arbitration and conciliation council is to provide the centre with planning and policy advice and recommendations on the wipo arbitration rules, conciliation rules, summary rules。
Since it was difficult for the parties to intellectual property disputes to agree to refer the dispute to conciliation or arbitration, the centre had carefully designed a good offices programme. One of the parties to the dispute may apply for good offices to the centre, which will convey that opinion to the other party. With the approval of the parties, the centre would first act as an intermediary in the exchange of information, helping parties to understand each other's positions and interests and laying the basis for dispute resolution. The centre also launched an “online dispute resolution process” in response to a new and growing situation of intellectual property dispute over the internet. That is, the person can apply to the centre via the internet and, under the auspices of the centre, information is exchanged online, with the exception of some original documentary evidence. Individuals can use the internet to use multimedia facilities to conduct face-to-face talks in different corners of the world. The “on-line dispute resolution process” has gradually become operational in practice。
The organization is constantly moving towards soundness and maturity and is well placed to respond to the challenges posed by scientific and technological changes to intellectual property legislation and to its vital mission of developing international intellectual property law。
